BOOOSTD'S Build Thread

[BOOOSTD]

Re-balanced the rear drag wheels and ordered some new 26" tall front rubber. That will resolve the little bit of rubbing that I was having with the current 28" tall tire.


Rears ready to go, fronts should be in later this week.

 

[BOOOSTD]

Removed 4 mounting plates
Removed insulation under carpet
Weight Reduction: -19lbs




Gutted the interior to grind out the remaining 4 cage mounting plates and to remove the insulation from under the carpet. The day didn't start good as the first turn on the passenger seat rear bolt snapped in half :thumbsdown: Thankfully, the bolt protrudes through the floor so I jacked up the car, heated the bolt up a bit, grabbed onto it with a vise grip and spun it out. I didn't make that mistake again and preheated the remaining rear seat bolts which came out smoothly. The front bolts were non-issue and easily loosened.


I carried on with gutting the interior and grinded out the 4 remaining cage mounting plates which were only light pinch welded in. They were removed and weighed in at 8 lbs for the 4 plates. I then scuffed the interior and sprayed it with the truck bed liner stuff that I've been using. Between coats, I removed the insulation from under the carpet. The insulation was weighed in at 11 lbs.


I"ll take another 19 lbs for free now but since I'm already gutted, I'm contemplating whether or not to scrape up the sound dampening hmmm.



Current reductions:


-116.5 lbs removed for free
-57 lbs removed from parts
--------------------------
-173.5 lbs so far




Car = 3,312.5 lbs

 

[BOOOSTD]

Decided that since the interior was gutted that I would get rid of the little bit of sound dampening around the center console/tunnel area and in the passenger and driver foot wells. The rest of the sound dampening is easily accessible. I just didn't want to pull the interior again to come back to these areas. And to be honest, it sucked scraping it up after it had been nicely coated but the truck bed liner coating is very forgiving and easy to blend.


These 3 little areas only yielded 5 lbs, but I guess it will add up as well with the remaining sound dampening to remove.


Current reductions:


-121.5 lbs removed for free
-57 lbs removed from parts
--------------------------
-178.5 lbs so far




Car = 3,307.5 lbs and knocking on 32's door

 

[330CubeGt]

Do the entire floor all the way back to the tailights. Will give you another 5-7 lbs

 

[BOOOSTD]

I plan on doing the rest; just wanted to get the front interior back in. The rest will be easy to access in comparison.

 

[BOOOSTD]

Re-installed Interior
Weight Reduction: -10.5 lbs
I got the interior back in and made a few small changes which cut another 10.5 lbs. I had no use for the power driver seat stuff so I swapped just my track for a manual track. I like to keeps things simple but functional. This alone was a 9.5 lb difference and as I re-installed the interior I removed some misc plastic items which added up another 1lb.
The real motive behind swapping to the manual seat track was due to the countless times that I couldn't move the seat when the kill switch was off. The weight savings was secondary.

Current reductions:
-121.5 lbs removed for free
-67.5 lbs removed from parts
--------------------------
-189 lbs so far

Car = 3,297 lbs

I noticed the carpet fit in so much better without the mounting plates in the way and without the insulation.

Misc plastic items = 1lb

 

[rtusnake]

Like some weight reduction. Surprised the carpet insulation weighed that much. Will be following your progress

 

[lwarrior1016]

Ok, so where did you find the 17x9.5 wheels?

 

[BOOOSTD]

Like some weight reduction. Surprised the carpet insulation weighed that much. Will be following your progress

Thanks!

Ok, so where did you find the 17x9.5 wheels?

Through a member on a local area forum...

 

[BOOOSTD]

Picked up the new 26" tall Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/R Tires which is a nice radial and certainly lot smaller in size than the 28".

 

[BOOOSTD]

Weight reduction: - 26 lbs

Got a few things done today starting with getting the new 26" tires mounted and balanced.

The drag wheels are now fully balanced and ready to go. Of note, the radials were 3lbs heavier (combined) then the bias ply.

Next on the to-do list was chopping the straws off. I like the way it looks, frees up some space and cuts 16 lbs out. They will be staying off and dumps going in so I will add that weight when that happens. I then removed the front sway bar just for the track to help give me a little more pop. I don't have the best drag suspension setup so I need all the help I can get. The front sway bar was another -13 lbs.

To clarify, I take note of both reductions and additions which have been reflected since I started tracking. For example, in this post I had cut 29 lbs out and thenn added 3lbs back in for the wheels giving me a -26 lbs net.

Current reductions:

-134.5 lbs removed for free
-80.5 lbs removed from parts
----------------------
-215 lbs so far

Car = 3,271 lbs

 

[1998cobrasvt]

Weight reduction: - 26 lbs

Got a few things done today starting with getting the new 26" tires mounted and balanced.

The drag wheels are now fully balanced and ready to go. Of note, the radials were 3lbs heavier (combined) then the bias ply.

Next on the to-do list was chopping the straws off. I like the way it looks, frees up some space and cuts 16 lbs out. They will be staying off and dumps going in so I will add that weight when that happens. I then removed the front sway bar just for the track to help give me a little more pop. I don't have the best drag suspension setup so I need all the help I can get. The front sway bar was another -13 lbs.

To clarify, I take note of both reductions and additions which have been reflected since I started tracking. For example, in this post I had cut 29 lbs out and thenn added 3lbs back in for the wheels giving me a -26 lbs net.

Current reductions:

-134.5 lbs removed for free
-80.5 lbs removed from parts
----------------------
-215 lbs so far

Car = 3,271 lbs

That number! Love how your in corvette weight territory but you still managed to keep the stock integrity of the interior.

By any chance is your exhaust louder in cab?

Any new noises on the street?

 

[BOOOSTD]

That number! Love how your in corvette weight territory but you still managed to keep the stock integrity of the interior.

By any chance is your exhaust louder in cab?

Any new noises on the street?

Yes, the exhaust is louder in the cab especially with no dumps at the moment to deflect the sound down. No new street noise other than a louder exhaust. The truck bed liner coating does a great jump dampening sound.

I'll reassess the exhaust sound after going to the track this Friday.

 

[1998cobrasvt]

Yes, the exhaust is louder in the cab especially with no dumps at the moment to deflect the sound down. No new street noise other than a louder exhaust. The truck bed liner coating does a great jump dampening sound.

I'll reassess the exhaust sound after going to the track this Friday.

Thats a plus in my book. My exhaust is my radio. Hope to have the same success as you when the time comes. Good luck on friday.

 

[BOOOSTD]

Thats a plus in my book. My exhaust is my radio. Hope to have the same success as you when the time comes. Good luck on friday.

Thanks man! I'll post up my ET's either way; good or bad!!

 

[BOOOSTD]

Well I had no luck on Friday and things didn't go as planned getting to the track. The car was ready to go as a few last minute items were completed by D'Sousa Performance. Got the car on the trailer and started to settle in on the highway. Around 401 and Hwy 6, I started to feel a bad wobble and heard a tractor trailer blare his horn at the same time. I looked in the drivers side mirror and saw a huge smoke show coming from the rear trailer wheel. I immediately pulled onto the shoulder and saw that the trailer fender had been sucked in from the tire breaking off. To make a long story short, it was a terrible experience, it scared the shiat out of me and my family and I didn't end up making it to the track. The End.
:thumbsdown:

 

[BOOOSTD]

After thinking about this for a few days, I've realized that the outcome could've been a lot worse. Most importantly, I'm grateful that no one was hurt and that my family is safe. That said, the season is over for me and I will hold off going to the track until next year. Before I store the car for winter, I'm going to go for a family cruise and end it on a positive note.

 

[lwarrior1016]

That's a big time bummer! Glad everyone was safe though, and you are right it could have been much worse.

 

[BOOOSTD]

Just a late update with some of the goodies that were installed by D'Sousa for the track rental day. As usual, they did an awesome job getting the car ready!

• HPM Mega-bite Jr. Lower control Arms
• Driveshaft Safety Loop
• MSD digital programmable shift light
• MSD 2-Step wired
• Hurst Line Lock
• Hurst shifter handle with button

I really dig how the 2-Step and line lock are wired on a 3 way toggle switch! While the car was there, they also swapped the front plate holder to the proper cobra plate holder which contours the front bumper and looks so much better. The small details make a big difference!!

3 way toggle switch for 2-Step and Line Lock - Sweet

Old Plate holder:

Cobra Plate holder:

 

[BOOOSTD]

Weight Verification:


In Post #471, I noted that I chopped the tailpipes off which cut 16 lbs. Although I really like the look and that fact that it frees up some space and weight; it totally changed the tone of the car and made it sound like a beast - a real sounding car according to Joe Lol

The sound was definitely beast mode which is great for the track but not so great for the street IMHO. I still like to cruise, have a conversation in the car and like to have the option of keeping it quiet, when needed.


With the addition of the tailpipes going back on (+16 lbs) and the other goodies added (safety loop, lower control arms, line lock, shift light etc) I wasn't exactly sure how much weight I added back in, so I went and got weighed. My last weight entry of just the car was 3,271lbs.


I hit a local scale with the car dressed in drag, 1/2 tank and me in it = 1580 kg = 3,476 lbs.


When I subtract my body weight (179.5 lbs), the car comes in at 3,296.5 lbs.


Therefore, the above added goodies accounted for 9.5 lbs + 16 lbs tailpipes = 25.5 lbs gained. Nonetheless, I'm pleased with the weights overall and it confirms that my tracking of the weight reduction has been accurate

Updated Reductions:


-118.5 lbs removed for free
-80.5 lbs removed from parts
----------------------
-199 lbs so far




Car = 3,296.5 lbs